family accomodation in florence?

roberto

New member
HI,

Would you have any suggestions on a family-friendly place to stay in Florence? We'll be there on June 22 to June 25th.

We're a small family of 3, ideally we're looking for an apartment that has a kitchen, a baby crib for an 18-month old, and would want to stay in the old town. We can only stay in florence for 3 nights, and our budget is 100-150 euros per night.

Any suggestions on accomodations would be most appreciated.

Also, if you have any tips on site seeing in florence with an 18-month old, that would be great as well. Thanks in advance!
 
Family Accommodations in Florence

Dear Roberto,

Generally rental apartments have weekly fares, although I suggest you definitely contact the accommodation directly and ask about shorter stays. Also note that June is high season and you can think of staying in Florence surroundings and maybe in a B&B or farmhouses to save some money. Apartments in Florence's center can be expensive.

These are my suggestions for rental apartments in Florence:

  • Florence center apartment - The apartment in Florence offered by Nidi di Belforte is located in Florence's historical center, a few steps away from the Duomo. It has a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a small balcony.

  • Apartments in Piazza della Signoria - Casa del Garbo is an elegant B&B right in Piazza della Signoria. It offers suite apartments with fully-equipped kitchenettes, as well as a view over the Piazza.

  • Farmhouse apartment near Florence - Agricola Poderino is a farmhouse near Florence, about 15 minutes distance from the center. It has an independent and fully equipped apartment for rent that would be perfect for your family.

  • 3 star hotel in Florence center - Hotel Cosimo dei Medici is located in a quiet area in Florence city center. It doesn't offer apartments, but it's a family-friendly accommodation giving a 5% discount to families.

I suggest you request the necessity of a baby-crib on your first email. Most accommodations are equipped for babies and small children, but I recommend you ask first to make sure you'll have the crib/bed available.

Regarding what to do in Florence with small children, I suggest you read first our article about spending 2 days in Florence. I recommend you visit the Oblate library, because there is a lovely childrens playroom and a gorgeous view over the Duomo on the top floor.
The Official Tourism Board of Florence offers a Florence guide for children. Unfortunately it is in Italian, but I think it could be useful for more ideas. In addition I suggest you contact them and ask for an English guide book or go directly to the office when you'll be in Florence.

I hope my suggestions help you in planning your holiday in Florence :D
 
June 24 - St. John feast day in Florence

Ciao Roberto,
You will be in Florence on June 24, feast day for Florence's patron saint, St. John the Baptist. So after sunset head toward the banks of the Arno to enjoy the spectacular fireworks show the city puts on every year. Hopefully your 18 month old will not get too scared and will enjoy the colorful display!
 
family accommodations florence

Thank-you for your replies (Valentina and Lourdes)!

You gave me some great suggestions to think about, and of course this opened up my mind to a few more questions.

First with the accomodations, I'm now reconsidering my original plan to stay in the centre of town in Florence. We'll be coming from Pisa with a rental car, and will therefore also need to find a place to park the car. So my thought was to stay just outside the centre of town, but still within 15-20 minutes walking distance. I thought it may be easier to find parking, and maybe find a place that is more confortable for a similar or less expensive price per night? Otherwise, as you also suggested, we may find a place in a surrounding area outside of Florence, but was trying to avoid the extra driving if possible and thought maybe I'd miss out on the experience and convenience of staying in the heart of town? With our trip within a few weeks, I'll need to decide on something soon... hopefully I haven't waited too long to reserve a place.:confused:

Thank-you also for the tips on what to see and do in Florence with a small child. We have three nights planned in Florence, and figure that we'd spend two days walking around the city, then one day driving around the Chianti Region. From other forum posts, I read a recommendation to visit the hill top towns of Radda, Castellina, & Gaiole... the scenery sounds great, any tips on a place to stop and eat, maybe enjoy a glass of chianti?

One last question, I see that June 24th is feast day in Florence. Is this when they play the final Calcio Storico game (no rules football/rugby)? If yes, would it be "family-safe" to go and see the game? Would tickets be available?

Thanks so much for your answers so far. Your posts are really informative and helpful. We look forward to our visit!

Roberto
 
Family accommodation in Florence center or surroundings

Dear Roberto,

I can understand your doubts. I'd like you think about the following:

if you are staying in Florence city center, you won't have any extra-driving but you'll have to pay parking. As we mentioned in this article about parking lots in Florence, parking is quite expensive. Of course most of hotels have special agreements with private car parking, but still prices are about 20-30 Euro per day.

If you are staying in Florence surroundings you don't need to worry about parking and extra costs. You can stay in a farmhouse or B&B in Florence surroundings, connected to Florence center by bus. For example Agricola Poderino that I've already suggested, or the nice B&B La Paggeria, that is located 20 minutes by bus from the city center.

Regarding a day out in the Chianti region, I have a restaurant to recommend. Just yesterday I spent the whole day in Chianti with my family. We went to Radda, Gaiole and Castellina. We had lunch in San Gusmè, that is an enchanting medieval village 10 km from Gaiole. In the small city center there is a nice restaurant called Sira e Remino specialized in typical Tuscan food. It's delicious and I suggest you try Pici cacio e pepe (pasta with cheese and black pepper) and Tagliata con porcini (Florentine steak with porcini mushrooms). Gnammy, gnammy :D and it's not expensive (about 25-30 euro per person). If you want to do some wine tastings in Chianti you can read this article. You can find lots of wineries, farms and wine shops offering wine tastings all over Chianti, as well as in the towns you intend to visit.

On June 24th the final match of the Calcio Storico Fiorentino generally takes place. I say generally, because for this year we have no information at the moment if there will be a match for sure. In fact, due to political-administrative issues there is no confirmation on whether the semi-final and final matches will be played. I suggest you wait and ask for information once you arrive and buy tickets directly on match day, if the game turns out to be played.

I hope my suggestions will help resolve your doubts and in making your final decision :D I also hope you'll share your experience in Tuscany with us when you'll be back home.
 
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